Retrace Our Steps
by Erio99
Summary: Midoriya's kindness gets him into all sorts of situations and now is no different. A little girl struggling to control her quirk should have been easy to help, right? Now his mind is failing, and it's taking every ounce of willpower to hold on. He'll need all the help he can get to keep from forgetting who he is before he loses everything.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! This is my first-ever HeroAca fic. I've spent the last week binging the show, and now that I'm done I want to start contributing to the fandom. If I make any mistakes, please don't hesitate to correct me!**

 **And...enjoy!**

* * *

Midoriya liked to wake up early so he could go for a morning run. It left him with plenty of time to take a warm shower, have a nice breakfast, chat with his mom, and head off for the day.

Over time he started meeting other runners who had the same idea. Some were old and some not, some had nice quirks and some not. He got to know them all by name, they knew him by name, and sometimes they'd run around the park together.

He grew especially fond of a 43-year-old man named Daichi Sato, a former thug who cleaned up his life when he got out of jail. Now he was a fast food store manager with a wife and two kids. Mr. Sato gave a lot of good life advice and told a lot of inspiring stories. Unfortunately, Mr. Sato's mother had recently passed away, so he wouldn't be joining Midoriya at the park for a while.

But Midoriya didn't mind running alone. Sometimes it helped clear his head. And it would have done just that on this morning, except...

What was that? The sound of a child crying? In the park at 5 AM?

Midoriya ran around for a bit, checking out all the bushes and benches for any small weeping children. So far, no luck.

The only other person at the park this early was a little girl on the swings. She had her face curled into her chest, and wasn't really swinging so much as she was just sitting there. She looked about six or so, with no parental supervision.

The green-haired boy sat down on the swing beside her, kicking his legs a little. It was mildly embarrassing that the inheritor of One for All couldn't even reach his toes to the ground, but unlike Kacchan he could swallow his pride.

"Are you alright?"

She said nothing, just whimpered and kept her face tucked in.

"It's okay to be sad. Is your mommy or daddy around?"

For a moment, he thought perhaps she was deaf. But then she shook her head, so he banished that concern and continued to talk.

"Where are your parents?"

A pause. She opened her mouth. "Home."

Her voice was riddled with hiccups and quivering syllables. She wiped her eyes and nose on her sleeve.

"Why aren't you home too?" he asked, making sure his face stayed soft and pleasant for her. Yet for some reason, the optimist found it hard to pull a smile. The girl just seemed so sad, it felt wrong to smile when she couldn't. But he had to, if he was going to cheer her up.

"C-cuz I made accidentally 'em forget..." The whimpering got a little louder, so he made a 'shhh' noise to release the tension.

Midoriya wanted to hold her into a hug and tell her it would alright, but he was a stranger and wanted to respect her privacy. "What did you make them forget?"

She choked on her words.

"It's okay, you can tell me. I won't bite," he insisted. "My name is Izuku, by the way."

For a brief moment, the crying girl stared up at him with her puffy eyes. A flash of recognition sparked. "T-the boy from that game? O-on the TV?"

Ah, so she'd seen the Sports Festival. Of course. Everyone seemed to know him from that. Not to brag, but he did put up a decent fight then.

He gave a smooth nod. "That's me!"

Her face lit up like one of Kacchan's explosions, only a lot more delightful. "Then y-you can help m-me!" She dried her face on her sleeve again, sudden smile unwavering.

Did she really think that highly of him? Oh boy, hopefully he wouldn't let her down. "I'll do my best," he promised. "Can you tell me what's going on then, so I can help?"

After that, her demeanor seemed to lighten up. A super cool hero-in-training was right there and all her problems would be solved! Everything would be alright!

"It's my quirk," said the girl with a small yet hopeful pout. "I've had it for a bit, but I don't really use it a whole lot. It's not cool or nothing."

"What is it?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"I...I make people forget things."

Oh. Things clicked into place for young Midoriya. "And you made your mommy and daddy forget something?"

A solemn nod.

"What did you make them forget?"

Hesitation. Guilt. Remorse. "Me."

That was a punch to the gut like no other, and Midoriya had been knocked around quite a bit in his time. "Was it an accident?"

"Y-yeah." And the crying was starting up again. Man, if this got any more emotional Midoriya might have started crying himself.

"Do you want a hug?"

"Y-yeah."

Midoriya got off his swing and onto his knees, careful not to invade her personal space too much. He was an older boy hugging a strange little girl he'd just met. This was awkward in many ways.

But she didn't seem to care, just squeezing him like he was her brother, like it was totally natural, like she needed a hug and didn't care where she got it.

"We'll get this sorted out, okay?"

She gave a small, affirmative noise.

He pushed them apart and looked into her eyes. "Will you be okay if we go talk to the police about it? They're very nice people. I've met some of them."

The girl nodded. She took her time getting off the swing. Midoriya didn't take his eyes off her for a second. She took his hand and the two of them made way for the police station.

Their ten-minute stroll consisted of Midoriya trying to one-handedly text his mom about the situation, talking about favourite pro heroes (she was a big fan of Present Mic and Mt. Lady, but All Might was cool too), and hobbies. She revealed that her name was Koharu Yoshida, they talked quirks, it was nice.

"I'm scared, Izuku," she said.

"And why is that?"

"B-because I can't..." she took a moment to organize her words. They took a left turn. "My quirk doesn't work the way I want."

Midoriya cocked his head with one of those award-winning grins. "You want to know a secret?"

"Hmm?"

A laugh. "Neither does mine!" That wasn't entirely true. He was getting better and better at keeping it under control. But most of his experience with his quirk was an unruly bone-breaking disaster, so he could more than relate to her sentiment. And being a novice to this whole quirk thing himself, with less than a year of practice, he wasn't exactly a master.

She laughed. "Really?!"

"Yeah! Most of the time, I don't know what I'm doing either! No one does!"

"Nobody, not even All Might?"

"Probably," Midoriya said. "You haven't had it very long, and it sounds like a very cool power. I'm sure you just have to work on it, and everything will fall into place. Okay?"

"You really think it's cool?"

Midoriya nodded. "Of course. I'm sure you could do a lot of good with it!"

His attention turned to the building in front of them, a building made of bricks, authority, and an unquenchable thirst for justice. The police station.

The inside was very stiff and rigid, and the judgmental atmosphere all but snuffed out the laughter from Koharu's throat. She held tight to Midoriya's hand. He gave her hand an acknowledging squeeze, to let her know everything was fine.

He came up to the front desk. A cyclops lady with a shiny manicure looked up at him. "Can I help you?"

"Hi," he said. Midoriya subconsciously pulled at his shirt collar. "I-I'd like to speak w-with Ts-sukauchi...please." He really needed to get better at talking to people. But in his defense, he was doing just fine with Koharu.

She raised her one eyebrow at him. "Have a seat, please."

Midoriya did just that, and the little girl sat on his lap. Her curly brown ringlets got all up in his face, but he was fine with that.

She clutched both of his hands, pressed firm on her pajama pants lap. "I'm scared, Deku."

He murmured to her that it would be alright, that nothing bad would happen.

Koharu wanted to believe it, but the stuffy air reeked of criminal justice and beaurocratic red tape. There was hardly anyone else in the small waiting area, and not a sound could be heard. She squeezed harder, till her knuckles turned white and Midoriya feared they would bleed.

So he started to sing a song in a low, hushed tone. It was just a small lullaby of no real importance. Itsy Bitsy Spider, actually. But she sang along anyways. The two of them sat there, humming in unison, making the air seem lighter, letting the time tick by.

This Izuku or Deku person was very nice, she had concluded. Reminded her of daddy. And he was funny and nice and good at making her feel better.

But...there was something in his eyes. Under the cloak of optimism, beneath his long-since settled pretense of joy and love. It was hard to see but she could if she looked hard enough. She couldn't identify it though. A small, wet emotion that twirled around in his evergreen irises. There was turmoil in his heart. A pain in it, a stubborn thorn he couldn't pull out. If she focused, she could feel the horrific images screaming in his head. The angry voices making his blood cry.

If only she could make it go away. To make the nice green-haired boy even happier, to put his mind at ease. If only she could repay his kindness in some...small...way...

That was it! If he didn't remember his past trauma, it wouldn't bother him! She reveled in her own genius.

So it was settled then. She'd just erase all his bad memories, as a small token of gratitude for his services. Koharu could only hope she didn't screw this up like she did with her parents.

Static crackled in the back of Midoriya's eyes, before spreading through to the rest of his brain like a forest fire.


	2. Quite the Predicament

**Sorry this took so long to update guys! I didn't realize so many people were interested in reading this. Hope I don't let everyone down :)**

 **Comment Reviews:  
Drawkill Vear - Aw, thanks! You continue to flatter me!**

 **linken63 - Oh my god thank you!**

 **ShouyouTaiyou - I will do my best to fulfill your expectations!**

 **And...enjoy!**

* * *

"I got your message," he said, somewhat breathless. He had considered using his muscle form to arrive here faster, since it was 'urgent', but ultimately he decided to reserve his time limit should for any potential villain attacks. "What seems to be the problem?"

Tsukauchi, his old friend, had a grave expression that made even Toshinori's skeletal cheeks look lively. "It's...you need to see for yourself."

He didn't like the sound of that, but didn't press the matter. Trusting his police companion to show him what was wrong, Toshinori followed him down the hall.

"Don't be alarmed," said Tsukauchi as he led Toshinori down the hall. "But Izuku Midoriya got himself into an _interesting situation_ , so to say."

Well that was nothing new for his apprentice. Young Midoriya got himself into all sorts of 'interesting situations'. His entire life was proof of that fact. Being quirkless, meeting your favourite hero, inheriting their power, going to a prestigious school...the list of Midoriya's 'interesting situations' could go on.

The fact that they were not having this conversation in a hospital did plenty to ease the blonde hero's nerves. Still, he didn't like Tsukauchi's confidentiality and something felt off about this whole scenario.

Tsukauchi stopped in his tracks, and gestured to a nearby door. It was his office. "He's in there."

A tremor through his hand made him question whether or not he wanted to open the door, to see just what was wrong with his successor.

But he did, eventually. The warm laughter bubbling from the other side served to soothe his heart, the familiar sound of Midoriya's joy. It was actually quite nice to hear Midoriya be so happy. While the boy was a cheerful optimist, he was a very reserved one.

Just get it over with.

He gripped the doorknob and flung it wide open.

The sight was actually rather anticlimactic. He'd expected to see Midoriya in some poor condition, broken in spirit and body. Yet, a quick scan for injury came up dry. He was fine, perhaps even better than fine. He looked happier than he'd been in a long time.

Midoriya was sitting in a chair beside a litte girl. Both of them were equipped with crayons, scribbling hard and fast on sheets of printer paper.

Toshinori sent a confused glance to his friend, who simply motioned for him to go up to the green-haired teen.

"What are you drawing, Izuku?" he heard the little girl ask.

Midoriya held up the paper to show her. It wasn't super amazing, but then again he wasn't exactly an art prodigy. "I drew a rabbit!"

She giggled. "That doesn't look like a rabbit at all! It looks like a fish."

He gave a mock frown and looked at the paper again. "You think so? W-well then what did YOU draw, Koharu?"

The girl, Koharu, proudly flipped around the paper for all to see. It was even worse than his, but you could see how much heart she put into it with every line. "I drew my favourite hero!"

"And who's that?"

"Izuku!"

Midoriya turned a deep shade of red, which went surprisingly well with his green hair.

A hesitant Toshinori just watched from afar, waiting for the first sign that something was off. So far the only interesting thing about this 'interesting situation' was how good Midoriya was with kids.

He looked back at Tsukauchi, confusion creasing his brow. Tsukuachi said nothing, continuing to gesture towards the children.

There was a fear in his gut (perhaps that just came from his wound), which kept him from waltzing right up in his usual charismatic way and saying hello. It was a fear that told him that the moment he spoke to Midoriya, things would stop seeming fine. A fear that this was a scab he didn't want to pick at.

But he was All Might, for god sake! The number one hero, the symbol of peace! He'd faced villains scarier than this. It was just small, flustered Izuku Midoriya. It was just his apprentice. What was the worst that could happen?

Toshinori placed his hand, swollen with reluctance, on the shoulder of the teen in question.

He spun around. First he was surprised. Then, perplexed.

A haunting lack of recognition flashed in his eyes, flashed straight through Toshinori's chest and ripped a little piece away. But maybe, hopefully, he was reading the situation wrong.

"Midoriya?"

"S-sorry, sir," said the boy. "Do I know you?"

Toshinori stumbled back, trying to keep his lips from sinking. "It's me, Midoriya. Your-"

Without finishing his sentence, Toshinori turned away. Those eyes were just too vacant.

With a stiff gait he returned to Tsukauchi's side. "What happened to him?

Tsukauchi sighed, then subtly pointed to the little girl. The two of them watched as Midoriya and Koharu continued their drawing game. "Her name is Koharu Yoshida. Her quirk just recently manifested, and she's been having trouble controlling it."

"Don't tell me-"

"Yeah," Tsukauchi interrupted with a solemn head-shake. "It's a memory-altering quirk. From what she told us, last night she got into the cookie jar when she wasn't supposed to and her parents got upset. So she tried to make them forget it ever happened, but instead she accidentally made them forget that SHE ever happened."

A small, instinctive gasp escaped Toshinori's throat. He glanced back at the little girl, smiling and laughing and flaunting her drawings for the whole world to see. How could she be so happy after something so tragic?

"Horrified, she ran off and ended up at the park without knowing what to do," Tsukauchi continued. "Where she met Izuku. She says he was going for a run when he came by and offered to help her."

Typical Midoriya. He wasn't sure whether to be proud or upset.

Tsukauchi loosened his collar. "He took her here, to the station. They were waiting in the lobby when things went wrong. Koharu told us she only wanted to repay him for his kindness by getting rid of all his bad memories but...as you can probably tell, it didn't work out like that."

The both of them spectated the next round of the kids' drawing game. Midoriya drew a tree, but Koharu's fairy sketch was deemed superior. They both got out more paper and began speed-scribbling in unsion. Once a certain, unspoken amount of time was up (really just whenever Koharu said 'time's up) they both exchanged drawings and declared a winner before doing it again.

"What all can he remember?"

"We've yet to test to full extent of his amnesia," the policeman replied. "But from what he can tell, almost all of it."

"Does his mom know?"

"She's on her way. As are Koharu's parents."

"Is there anything we can do to reverse this?"

"Unfortunately, no," Tsukauchi said. "Koharu's quirk only takes. It doesn't return or restore memory once she's taken it. The way her quirk works, is that it absorbs memories and converts them into energy. Like a plant with sunlight. So when the memory is gone, it's gone for good."

Toshinori ran a hand through his scraggly hair, clutching at his scalp.

The little girl finally took note of the two adults hanging in the doorway, watching her intently, and waved to them. "You wanna see my pictures, mister police guy?"

Tsukauchi chuckled and said that he'd love to. Toshinori just stood there, uncertain of what to say, do, or feel.

Midoriya's eyes fell on the bony man who had approached him earlier. He felt like he should have known who this was, but he didn't blame himself. That Tsukuachi man had told him he was suffering amnesia, which meant anything he didn't know wasn't his fault (or was it? They never told him exactly HOW he'd come to forget).

It was like the tingling tenderness you get when your leg falls asleep, only in your brain. And not even your whole brain, just big splotches of TV static where memories should be.

Well, it only seemed courteous to say hello to the man. They were probably friends, or related, or maybe he was his teacher. Or a neighbour. Or a concerned citizen.

"Sorry if I-I don't remember you, s-sir," said Midoriya. "I've been told I have amnesia. Could you remind me who you are?"

Toshinori almost didn't have the heart to respond without choking up.


End file.
